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No.1 Virginia scored in the first 15 seconds and never stopped the assault on goalie Harry Alford and No.3 Maryland’s defense in a 15-5 victory yesterday at Byrd Stadium.

It was Maryland’s first 10-goal loss since 2003, a 14-4 decision against Virginia in the NCAA semifinals.

Junior Drew Thompson won the opening faceoff and flipped it to senior midfielder Kyle Dixon, who returned a pass to Thompson for an open shot to put Virginia up 1-0.

“It was a disastrous way to start the game,” Maryland defensive coordinator Dave Slafkosky said. “Then we go and win the next faceoff and really turn it over and they come back down and score again.”

Midfielder Matt Poskay added another goal just more than a minute later to contribute to the Cavaliers’ 5-0 start, and goalie Kip Turner made eight saves in a first quarter in which Virginia scored five of the six goals.

The Cavaliers (10-0, 1-0 ACC) are off to their best start ever. The last time Virginia won 10 straight was 2003, when it closed out a national championship run. Maryland fell to 6-2, 2-1.

Midfielder Xander Ritz had the lone goal for Maryland in the first half on an assist from his brother, Maxwell, with 6:50 left in the period. The Ritz brothers each scored two goals, and Maxwell had two assists.

Virginia had four and five goals in the second and third quarters, respectively, and was only outscored 2-1 in the final quarter when most of its starters were out of the game.

The Terrapins’ plan coming into the game was to slow the pace and keep Virginia’s strong offense at bay, but the early deficit caused them to take poor shots and make mental errors, Maryland coach Dave Cottle said.

“We made a lot of poor decisions throughout the field,” he said. “It was the mental toughness that we didn’t have.”

Maryland had 46 shots in the game, but only 26 were on goal. Turner made 15 saves and gave up three goals until he was replaced by Bud Petit to start the fourth quarter. Petit made six saves and gave up two goals.

“We were 5-for-46 in shooting, and you can’t win any game like that,” Cottle said. “Shots aren’t that important, it’s good shots that work. We were trying to shoot our way out of trouble.”

Virginia has scored at least 10 goals in every game but one this year. Yesterday, they had seven different scorers. Most of the goals came from the perimeter because Maryland’s defensive scheme protects the crease.

The Terps’ Alford made 12 saves and gave up 12 goals. Maryland pulled Alford and put in Jason Carter after Rubeor’s fourth and final goal of the game with 8:41 left in the third quarter.

Maryland All-American attacker Joe Walters improved his point streak to 41 straight games with an assist on Bill McGlone’s goal late in the third quarter.